Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The exact cause of Chen Shenzhi's death was only discovered by the two of them half a month later.

Less than half an hour after Chen Shenzhi was confirmed dead, the effects of Shen Hui's inhibitor wore off. The backlash was so intense that the entire desert was blanketed in pure white snow.

Most of the soldiers were unbonded alphas, and Shen Hui's pheromones nearly drove them into a frenzy. They could focus on nothing else. The major quickly cleared out a vehicle, ordering Yan Gui to take Shen Hui away. They raced urgently toward the landing strip, and it wasn’t until they entered the master bedroom of Yan Gui's Gulfstream 800 that they finally relaxed.

This specifically referred to Yang Bai, who’d been hastily brought along. The major saw him as a walking nuclear bomb—a disaster waiting to happen if left behind. So, at the last second before Yan Gui closed the door, he tossed Yang Bai into the back seat and brushed off his hands, satisfied.

Once inside the cabin, Yang Bai ducked into the entertainment area, shutting the door tightly. Only when he was sure Yan Gui and Shen Hui hadn’t noticed him did he lean against the door and slide down to the floor, his body going limp.

It was the first time he’d done something like this under the noses of so many important people. His hands shook like a leaf. He fumbled in his pocket for what felt like ages before finally pulling something out, nearly dropping it several times due to his shaking.

Steadying it with both hands, he slowly opened his hand to reveal the white snake that had bitten him.

The snake lay lifeless in his hand.

Yang Bai didn’t know what to do. He didn’t dare go to his brother or Yan Gui now, and he had no idea who could help him. Even he thought the thought in his mind was utterly absurd.

He believed this white snake was Shaoyao.

Through the snake, he could vividly recall the first time he met Shaoyao.

A girl of eighteen or nineteen, she acted like it was her first time trying milk tea. Her skeptical eyes lit up the moment she took her first sip.

That expression was so rewarding. Yang Bai blew all his spending money buying her every signature drink and even treated her to cream puffs.

The wonder in Shaoyao’s eyes was brighter and more vivid than any color he’d ever seen.

He never imagined a girl could be so fierce yet so stubborn, willing to risk her life for him over a cup of milk tea.

No matter what, he wanted to fight for Shaoyao one more time. Even if the soldiers arrested him, he wouldn’t hand over this snake.

*

When Yan Gui carried Shen Hui into the bedroom, he paid no attention to his sneaky, simple-minded son.

Shen Hui’s body was icy cold, but his forehead and gland were burning hot. He clung tightly to Yan Gui, fighting the urge to do anything reckless, biting his lips until they bled.

Only when his back touched the soft bedding did they kiss with abandon, their torn and ragged clothes shredded and tossed to the floor.

Shen Hui, burning up with fever, lost all rationality. His gaze toward Yan Gui became dewy and soft, innocent and clear like a newborn, stirring an inexplicable guilt in Yan Gui.

Seizing the moment when the alpha’s will wavered, Shen Hui’s newly healed gland released icy pheromones that wrapped around Yan Gui’s neck, trying to make his partner succumb to desire with him.

Shen Hui held him, soft and wet, pressing grateful kisses at the corner of his lips.

And so the alpha snapped. At this moment, the omega needed neither pity nor gentleness.

He was inviting something fiercer, more ruthless.

But soon, the omega was crying and trying to escape, only to be pinned firmly in the scorching heat, made to cry.

Yan Gui captured his tears with his lips, pressing Shen Hui into the bedding, fully relaxing and letting his full weight rest on him.

Shen Hui murmured incoherently, "Too… too deep."

"Can’t handle it already?" Yan Gui’s voice was hoarse, his breath brushing against Shen Hui’s reddened earlobe.

Shen Hui shook his head, his consciousness shattered. No matter how many times, he could never get used to the burning heat that felt like it would consume him.

"Want to cool down?" Yan Gui coaxed his obedient partner mischievously, guiding his hand.

"Right here, just wrap it in profound ice."

Shen Hui shrank back, shaking his head. A subconscious sense of danger made him refuse, but the alpha persisted, slowly rubbing against the position of the tracker.

"Sure you don’t want to?"

Shen Hui trembled all over, wanting to shake his head but unable to as Yan Gui held his chin and kissed him.

In the end, he was forced to yield, wrapping himself in profound ice, trapped between ice and fire with no escape. Without the alpha’s permission, he couldn’t touch or melt.

Ten thousand meters in the air, there was only each other.

The plane landed directly outside Yan Gui’s suburban villa. He cleared everyone out before wrapping Shen Hui up tightly, ensuring even his pheromones were overwhelmed by Yan Gui's scorching heat, leaving no trace for others to detect.

…

Shen Hui’s abnormal bonding phase lasted a full half month. By the time the two could finally step out of the bedroom, all remnants from the evolution had been sealed away in a top-secret military base.

The military specifically sent someone to meet with them, choosing Yan’s research institute as the location.

The visitors were the major and his aide, who also brought Gu Xun. The couple who had undergone evolution brought Yang Bai, mainly because of the snake he’d hidden.

The six of them sat in the reception room. Having been through life and death together, they were relatively familiar with each other.

"The military’s stance is to completely seal away the matter of gland evolution," the major said, sitting upright.

This was an unspoken consensus—gland evolution must never enter the public eye.

But the major’s personal presence indicated that higher-ups weren’t entirely indifferent to gland research, especially with powerhouses like Yan Gui and Shen Hui in their grasp. Only a fool wouldn’t know how to utilize them.

"Please speak plainly, Major," Yan Gui said, noticing Shen Hui slumped listlessly on the couch, the redness on his neck still visible. He stood to get him a glass of ice water.

Shen Hui glanced at the ice cubes but didn’t take it, instead raising his eyes to look at Yan Gui.

Yan Gui understood instantly and cleared his throat awkwardly to cover up. "I’ll get you a glass of warm water."

Only then did Shen Hui accept it. After a sip, his throat felt much better. Seeing the major still hesitating, he got straight to the point: "We can assist the military in gland evolution research and serve as your hidden asset, but we have conditions."

The major, a soldier unskilled in negotiation, readily took the opening Shen Hui offered: "Of course, the military will not shortchange you."

Shen Hui particularly enjoyed dealing with straightforward people—they were easy to fool. He raised his index finger. "First, Yan Corporation demands exclusive rights to military-industrial cooperation."

The major thought for a moment and nodded. Yan Corporation was already on their list of potential partners, and their reach was extensive. An exclusive partnership would streamline things for the military.

Shen Hui raised his middle finger. "Second, Yan Corporation must have absolute leadership in gland evolution research and retain exclusive rights for any non-military market applications in the future."

This was a huge ask. If gland evolution could ever be safely introduced to the market, the potential profits would be enormous. No one would willingly hand over such a fortune.

"Impossible. At most, we can agree to a fifty-fifty split."

Shen Hui shot back immediately, "Twenty-eight split. We get eighty percent, you get twenty."

The military’s recovered data was extremely limited and offered almost no insight into the full scope of the original experiments. Without Yan Gui and Shen Hui, any talk of continuing the research would be pointless.

The major gritted his teeth. "Fine, but you must provide the test subjects."

He might as well have said "we want to study you" right to their faces.

But Shen Hui just smiled slightly and nodded. "Agreed."

"Third—" Shen Hui raised a third finger, and everyone's eyes widened in disbelief—there was more?!

Yang Bai was witnessing his brother's knack for driving a hard bargain for the first time. In his eyes, Shen Hui had always been an ethereal being who was above worldly concerns!

"Third, Yang Bai must accompany the test subjects throughout the entire process and have the authority to decide whether they stay or go."

Everyone was baffled. What kind of condition was this?

The major was equally confused. "Let him decide your fate? What does that mean?"

Shen Hui grinned slyly. "The Yans will provide the test subjects, but we never said it would be us."

Before the major's face could darken, Shen Hui signaled Yang Bai to bring out the white snake. Not only was the snake’s body not cold or decaying, but it even seemed to be showing signs of life.

...

Yan Gui and Shen Hui cheerfully saw off the ashen-faced major.

As the major got into his car, he still felt uneasy. Although he had completed his superiors’ mission, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been sold out. He exchanged bewildered glances with Yang Bai, who had also been kicked out of the house and was now holding the white snake.

Neither of them understood how things had turned out this way. Yang Bai spoke first, "You can save her, right?!"

The boy's eyes were so clear and full of hope, their brilliance so direct that the major swallowed back his "I don’t know" and found himself nodding.

Yan Gui had originally planned to get rid of everyone who was in the way and take Shen Hui on a honeymoon. But before he could even propose the idea, he was buried under a mountain of work in his office.

The boss had been away showing off his cool side for a month, and the backlog of documents had piled up to 999+. Directors and managers took turns guarding his door, demanding answers so fiercely that even sleeping was not an option.

After all, the boss had superpowers—he could manage without sleep.

Shen Hui was also locked in the office with him, calling it "compensation for the boss."

Pushed back into the office by a crowd of clamoring subordinates, the door slammed shut with a bang. The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Shen Hui glanced at the desk, his eyes smiling. "Need any help?"

He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and even when he did, he’d wake himself up. There were still faint shadows of exhaustion under his eyes.

"No, I can handle it myself!" Yan Gui declared boldly. Shen Hui let him be and settled on the sofa, flipping through the diary Gu Xun had secretly slipped him.

It was Yang Jingqiao’s diary.

Most of the entries were about experiments, so dull that Shen Hui dozed off while reading.

Yan Gui buried himself in work, and when he looked up, he saw Shen Hui’s sleeping face. For a moment, it all felt surreal. His past madness and obsession seemed to have led to this very moment.

There was no better time than now, and it made him want to... get distracted.

In his sleep, Shen Hui sank into a familiar, warm embrace and slept even more deeply. Thus, he didn’t hear the commotion and panicked shouts echoing through the building behind him.

"Oh no! The boss jumped out the window and escaped!"

"But this is the 60th floor!"

"We were careless! We should’ve kept his partner as a hostage!"

"What are you standing around for? Go after him!"

All the chaos was left behind as Yan Gui, holding Shen Hui, vanished into the night like a legendary thief making off with priceless treasure.

As for Shen Hui waking up to find himself on a plane again—that’s a story for another time.

-----------------------

Author's Note: The main story concludes here. There will likely be one more bonus extra chapter, which will be updated in a few days.